Border wars: Dutton hits back at Quaedvlieg

Peter Dutton has rebuked Roman Quaedvlieg, declaring his Senate evidence as ‘entirely false and indeed fabricated’.

Then Immigration Minister Peter Dutton (right) and then Australian Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg in 2015.

Peter Dutton has unleashed a ­blistering rebuke of Roman Quaedvlieg, the man he appointed as the nation’s first Australian Border Force commissioner, declaring that evidence provided by his former friend to a Labor-led Senate inquiry was “entirely false and ­indeed fabricated”.

The feud between the pair, who both worked with the Queensland Police Service before making their way to the upper echelons in ­Canberra, follows months of ­allegations and questions from Labor and the Greens targeting the Home Affairs Minister over his ­involvement in two au pair visa cases.

Mr Quaedvlieg has publicly expressed his delight over the inquiry and on Wednesday wrote to Labor senator Louise Pratt, who chairs the committee looking into Mr Dutton’s use of ministerial powers in visa determinations, claiming he had received a phone call in mid-June 2015 from the minister’s chief-of-staff, Craig Maclachlan.

According to the ex-ABF chief’s evidence, Mr Maclachlan sought help for “the boss’s mate in Brisbane” after one of the au pairs was detained. He asked what could be done to “fix this” and get the woman released.

The Australian can reveal Mr Quaedvlieg was not ABF commissioner in June 2015 despite claiming in his letter to the Senate committee that he was in the role “at the time of these events”.

 

Mr Quaedvlieg last night conceded he headed the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service when the Italian au pair was detained but stressed he had been selected as the “incumbent” ABF commissioner, before being sworn in on July 1, 2015.

Mr Dutton, who has been the subject of attacks by Bill Shorten following his failed attempt to claim the Liberal leadership, ­issued a statement last night, saying it was “impossible” for the ­alleged conversation between Mr Quaedvlieg and Mr Maclachlan to have occurred because the latter was not employed by him until October 2015.

The minister blamed Mr Quaedvlieg’s allegations on his “bitterness” over his sacking as head of the ABF in March for misbehaviour in the wake of a long ­review into his misconduct with a younger female staffer.

Among the allegations levelled at Mr Quaedvlieg was that he ­altered internal recruitment policies to favour his girlfriend Sarah Rogers and helped her land a job with the ABF just months after they began a relationship.

Ms Rogers, who has resigned from the ABF, is subject to charges following the Australian Commission of Law Enforcement Integrity’s investigation into Mr Quaedvlieg’s alleged misconduct and is listed to appear before Sydney Local Court on September 18.

Mr Quaedvlieg remains under criminal investigation.

Mr Dutton yesterday highlighted the proceedings against the pair. “As a matter of public ­record, Mr Quaedvlieg remains under criminal investigation by ACLEI and another person ­related to this matter is subject to charges,” he said.

Mr Dutton said he would “only assume that the pressure and personal toll of these investigations have resulted in Mr Quaedvlieg making an enormous error in ­judgment by submitting false ­evidence” to the Senate committee.

“ It is for these reasons, I have asked ABF Commissioner Mr ­Michael Outram to offer Mr Quaedvlieg any support to address his personal or mental health ­issues,’’ Mr Dutton said.

“It will ­remain an issue for the Senate whether Mr Quaedvlieg has breached any rules by ­providing false evidence to a Senate ­committee.’’

Mr Quaedvlieg responded to Mr Dutton’s attack with “some ­bemusement” and said he did not intend to debate the “facts” through the media. “I will instead correspond with the properly ­constituted committee in an attempt to reconcile the anomaly his statement identifies with the date of the events as I have described in my letter,” Mr Quadvlieg said.

“I am however adamant that they occurred. I completely reject his assertion that I have fabricated evidence. I stand very firmly by the description of the events as I have recollected and outlined in my submission.”

Italian au pair Michela Marchisio was detained at Brisbane airport in June 2015 after her tourist visa was cancelled amid sus­picions she intended to work. Mr Dutton intervened to allow her entry into Australia following representation from former Queensland police colleague Russell Keag. Mr Dutton has repeatedly said he has not spoken to Mr Keag for 20 years.

Mr Dutton said yesterday: “Mr Maclachlan was not employed by me at that time (June 2015) and didn’t join my staff until 7 October, 2015. Equally, it is impossible for Mr Maclachlan to have had any knowledge of the matter, at that time, because he was not even employed by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

“Moreover, I did not instruct any member of my staff to call Mr Quaedvlieg in relation to this matter. Nor did any member of my staff speak to Mr Quaedvlieg about it.”

The Greens and Labor have ­accused Mr Dutton of misleading parliament after he told the House of Representatives in March that he did not have a personal connection nor a relationship with Ms Marchisio or another au pair whose case he intervened in, or their intended employers.

AFL chief executive Gillon ­McLachlan connected his second cousin, Callum MacLachlan, with Mr Dutton’s office in the second au pair case.

Opposition immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann said the “only person who hasn’t come clean throughout this entire au pair affair” was Mr Dutton.